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Admittedly, I’m not a fan of heat — and certainly not the oppressive heat and humidity that descends upon the Northeast during the summer — but when it comes to the fire of a grill, bring it on. The life of a dinner shindig (“parties” necessitate tables and ware) can be as simple as quality charcoal, a few tunes and some great beef and veg. Hell, it doesn’t even need to be beef, but make sure the beer is good. The “One Grill Meal” isn’t a challenging culinary proposition. In fact, outside of skillet cooking it’s about as simple of a trick as they come. And whether your have propane or charcoal it’s a pretty damn simple affair and about as American as it gets.
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1 Heat You’ll want a lot of it, and for godssake brush your grate and rub a little oil before you start. The way we do it (and prone to debate): get your charcoal (after you’ve poured out from your chimney starter) or propane fired up. Close the lid until you feel radiating heat from the lid (super hot). This is when we scrub then rub oil on our grates.
2 Meat Hopefully you’ve done 5 minutes of pre-planning here and figured out what you’re going to prepare. People love variety but they love taste more so make your selections simple. Burgers and fresh corn. Seafood and asparagus. Brats and wings. Keep it simple and make it good. Everyone loves marinades and hot sauces. Buy or prepare a few sides (greek salad, red cabbage slaw). Go complex and you defeat the purpose of an O.G.M.
3 Essentials You’ll need a few essentials, but the basics are a durable grill, a pair of steel tongs (crucial), a generous glass or stainless mixing bowl and a platter. Plates if you want them but if your guests number in the 4-5 range, then consider having everyone join you around the fire and serve them directly — fire to mouth, beer in the left, dog in the right. You can ratchet up the presentation with plates and platters, and that’s fine and good, but part of what makes a one grill meal so great is its casualness. Like a chef’s table, but in the kitchen and around the pan.
4 Burgers For burgers: we relied on an old trick with burger patties. A scoop of blue cheese and red pepper flakes stuffed into the patty. Slices of gruyere on the side for those who prefer more cheese. Over high heat, fire your burgers for a few minutes on each side, enough for an excellent char line. 2 minutes after the flip, toss on a slice of cheese and throw the buns on. For toppings we stick with a perfectly ripe tomato, crispy green like Romaine and red onion. For toppings, make an easy ‘special sauce’ concoction: equal parts ketchup, mayo in a ramekin with a handful scallions and chopped onions if you’ve got them handy.
